


a different kind of war

by luthien82



Series: Lost My Heart in Mykonos [4]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Denial of Feelings, Introspection, M/M, Spoilers, Unresolved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luthien82/pseuds/luthien82
Summary: Alexios goes to Boeotia to win a war for Sparta. The enforced self reflection is just a bonus.
Relationships: Alexios/Thaletas (Assassin's Creed)
Series: Lost My Heart in Mykonos [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039977
Kudos: 9





	a different kind of war

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look, it's Alexios!  
> Wait.  
> Where's Thaletas?  
> ...  
> Goddamnit, still not that story...
> 
> A little background on this: this is basically my emotional state when I arrived in that portion of the game. I just figured that Alexios might be at the end of his rope at this point. (Little did I know what was still in store for him...) Anyway, this is the result.
> 
> Obviously, there are spoilers for this portion of Odyssey's Chapter 7.  
> The rating is more for the cursing than anything juicy. Sorry :/
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Assassin’s Creed and all associated characters as well as parts of the included dialogue are the property of Ubisoft. No copyright infringement is intended, this has been written for fun.

When Alexios entered the tent in Boeotia where he was supposed to report to the General in charge, all he could see at first was a fancy Spartan armor, a set of broad shoulders, and dark hair with the typical Spartan braid. For a heart stopping moment, Alexios thought he would come face to face with Thaletas.

_Too soon, it’s too soon, I won't be able to work with him again without..._

He cleared his throat to kill that line of thought and carefully said, “I’m looking for…”

_\- you, him, peace of mind -_

The General turned around at his words and hissed, “You!”

Alexios blinked in disbelief, the images of who he expected to turn around and who actually did not meshing together for a moment. “ _Stentor?_ ” he asked, just to be sure. The face didn’t change, it was still a furious Stentor looking at him, advancing on him.

Alexios wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed that it wasn’t Thaletas after all. He’d done everything in his power to avoid the man on Naxos. Successfully, he might add, though that was in great parts thanks to his _mater_. He should have been relieved to have evaded the man, not confused about it. His mind was a whirlwind of emotion, but none of them were the expected relief.

Stentor, however, didn’t leave him guessing what _he_ felt, as the fist and instant bloody nose proved. Alexios cursed, carefully touching it, but Stentor didn’t give him the time to explain himself before he drew his weapon.

It was reflex more than a desire to fight Stentor that made Alexios draw his own spear. “I’m here to _help_!” he tried to reason, but the incandescent fury in Stentor’s eyes and words made Alexios realize that he wouldn’t get through to the other man.

In hindsight, dealing with Thaletas might’ve been easier.

He held out the writ from King Archidemos, hating to have to resort to that little crutch but seeing no other way to get through to Stentor. He was, after all, a model Spartan General und would never defy a direct order from his king. No matter how much he hated it.

For someone who had grown up in Sparta, he had a surprising amount of self-esteem issues.

“The gods are punishing me with your presence.”

Stentor’s bitter words sounded like those of a child having a tantrum about their disappointment over not getting what it wanted. In some respects, Stentor still was a child; Alexios had stopped being one when he was thrown off Mount Taygetos. Tantrums were a luxury he’d never been able to afford, and he had little patience for people who did.

But Alexios had a job to do, and he was nothing if not professional. Still, it had already been a long day – a long _year_ , and the brief emotional turmoil of maybe possibly coming face-to-face with Thaletas so unexpectedly certainly didn't help – and his limited patience was too thin already. That, more than true animosity, made him reply, “If I was your punishment, you’d already be dead.”

He could feel Stentor wanting to protest, every inch the proud Spartan who wouldn’t bow down to anyone, much less a mere _misthios_. In the end some reason seemed to return to him, as he instead asked why the king had sent him. The _of all people_ was heavily implied.

Alexios mulled over how to answer that. For one insane moment he toyed with the idea of telling Stentor that one of his kings was a traitor and he was here to prove it, just to see the Spartan explode. But then reason returned. Alexios did have a job to do, after all, and baiting Stentor wasn’t it.

No matter how much fun it might be.

So in the end he settled for the most neutral answer in the hopes it would placate Stentor. But of course, it didn’t. Stentor didn’t trust him, especially after what happened in Megaris, or what he _thought_ had happened in Megaris. It burned on Alexios’ tongue to tell Stentor that he didn’t kill Nikolaos, that the man _chose_ to abandon his troops – chose to abandon _Stentor_ – to go find whatever his Spartan heart deemed lost. Find his honor – what the fuck even _was_ that? Where had his honor been when the cult manipulated him into letting them throw his baby sister off a mountain, and then flinging Alexios right after her?

Honor. What a fucking joke.

But Alexios knew that it wouldn't change anything, that Stentor had made up his mind about Alexios and nothing short of revenge would placate him. By the Gods, Alexios had no _time_ for this bullshit. He needed to get a move on things if he wanted to exterminate this cult that had destroyed his life when he'd been barely old enough to fend for himself. Winning the battle of Boeotia was only the first step. When he was done here, he would need to go to Elis and deliver a Champion, would have to ensure that said Champion would return with a wreath for Sparta. How exactly he was supposed to do that he had no idea, but he would succeed. Failure wasn't an option.

And as if that wasn't enough already, he also needed to keep his eyes and ears open for any potential trap during either of his tasks. While he didn’t think that Stentor was a Cultist, any of his trusted inner circle might be. You never knew.

In the end, after Stentor had obviously unloaded all his misgivings for the moment, he gave Alexios his orders and the parting shot that he didn't care if he succeeded in killing the Boeotian Champions or if they killed him, as both would be fine by him. Alexios refused to rise to the bait and began his hunt for the Boeotian Champions instead. Of course, thanks to his luck as of late, he ran into a Cultist by accident. He almost didn’t make it out alive of that encounter, only the Fates and a passing guard coming in between Alexios and the arrow meant for his heart preventing his early demise.

Damn Cultists were way too resilient. Like snakes. By the Gods, he hated snakes.

And then he was suddenly confronted with Nikolaos of all people, taking care of the last of the Champions and disposing of him rather brilliantly. If nothing else, Nikolaos had always been a formidable fighter. Some of the moves were familiar to Alexios, as he was using them himself, ingrained in him from the moment he could hold a practice weapon. But still, something bitter stirred in him when Nikolaos started talking about helping Stentor, supporting him. Stentor was obviously more worthy of Nikolaos’ help than Alexios had been when he was still a mere child.

Apparently, nobody truly wanted Alexios, in the end.

Seemed like Stentor wasn't the only one in the family with self-esteem issues. What a thing to have in common.

Alexios swallowed down his disappointment as he'd so often done in the past to get the job done. He made some ridiculous comment that Nikolaos should go to Stentor – no sense in both of them being without a father, and Nikolaos clearly favored Stentor, the model Spartan, over Alexios. Then moved on, reported back to Stentor, went to war for Sparta.

And won, of course. There was no room for defeat, not when he came closer and closer to uncovering the traitorous king.

Then, of course, Stentor completely lost it, trying to force Alexios into a fight to the death. It was so ridiculous that Alexios almost laughed, but the murder in Stentor’s eyes told him that would be a stupid idea. And suddenly Alexios was just so _tired_. Tired of being cast aside whenever he’d done his duty; tired of always having to fight for _everything_ in his life and never having anyone fight for _him_ for a change; tired of this whole fucking _conspiracy_ against his family. He had half a mind to just clock Stentor over the head and be done with it, leave Boeotia and the proud Spartan behind and move on. But that would surely create more problems down the line, so he better dealt with this nonsense now and tried not to kill Stentor by accident – or out of sheer annoyance, whichever happened first.

Stentor, however, had no plans of going easy on Alexios. He knew that much, could read as much on the other man’s face. Stentor was itching to send him to Hades, so Alexios was cautious when they circled each other. And while they circled each other, Alexios was trying to understand why Stentor hated him so much. After all, as he’d so aptly put it, Nikolaos chose him, not Alexios.

As if thinking of the man had conjured him, Nikolaos suddenly stepped into the circle that had formed around them and came between them. With the authority of a General he told them, “Killing each other won’t heal the wounds of the past.”

_But it sure as hell would feel good in the moment,_ Alexios thought bitterly when he saw the two men reunite. Stentor was clearly confused and enraged and happy all at the same time.

Alexios was just numb. Numb and _so fucking tired_.

He should have left when he had the chance, when Stentor and Nikolaos were too wrapped up in their reunion. But he didn’t, for whatever reason, and then Stentor left and he was alone with Nikolaos. Apparently not done with his good deeds of the day, he said, "Alexios, a shadow grows across Sparta. Be cautious when you return."

Alexios almost laughed, wanted to shout at him, tell him that he was already dealing with the traitorous king and that he would finish it, all without Nikolaos’ precious help. But he held his tongue, and instead replied, “ _Mater_ and I will deal with it.”

That seemed to surprise Nikolaos. He looked thoughtful, then asked, “You found her?”

Alexios nodded. “Ruling Naxos.”

There was a tiny smile on Nikolaos’ face. “Sounds like her.”

It was the tone more than the words that made Alexios pause. There was such familiarity in those three simple words, such tenderness. It baffled him, then something else crept up on him: understanding. A sudden and clear understanding of his parents’ relationship. For the first time since Nikolaos had thrown him off the mountain, Alexios realized that the man had given up on more than just his children that night, and that he obviously still cared for Myrrine.

It gave him food for thought, in more than one respect.

If Nikolaos, the model Spartan, could still love a woman who had acted against all laws of the land by trying to safe her condemned children, then maybe Alexios didn’t understand Spartans as well as he’d always thought he did.

It was a humbling realization. Humbling and a little late. If he’d listened to his _mater_ on Naxos and _talked_ to Thaletas, he might’ve gotten the closure he so obviously needed. Maybe he would’ve stopped expecting to see Thaletas at every turn because their issues would’ve been resolved. Maybe he wouldn’t be so _tired_ anymore because he would've won the constant fight against his feelings for a man who cast him aside in order to live his perfect Spartan life. 

But his feelings were far from resolved, or even properly examined and cataloged, and Alexios’ method of ignoring them and shoving them in a box clearly didn’t work. If Boeotia had shown him one thing, it was that this thing between him and Thaletas was not over at all. There was something left to deal with, in one way or another.

But that time wasn’t now. He still had to uncover a traitorous king, deliver a Champion, and meet his _mater_ and Brasidas in Arkadia. He had twenty other urgent things that needed his immediate attention; Thaletas had to wait. Acknowledging that he needed to confront his feelings was the first step, but right now the man wasn’t his priority.

Saving the Greek world from itself was.


End file.
